TeachingEnglish | Lesson plans

1 TeachingEnglish | Lesson plans BBC | British Council 2010 much Ado about nothing Aims: - To make Shakespeare accessible, relevant and enjoyable for EFL students - To create cross-curricular links geography (organising a trip to Stratford-Upon-Avon) and history (research into life in Elizabethan England) Level: Upper-Intermediate to Advanced Introduction This Lesson plan follows on from the article Shakespeare for Teens and it is best exploited as a series of two or three lessons. In these lessons students will learn about Shakespeare the man, Shakespeare the poet and Shakespeare the dramatist.

2 They will discover one of his most famous comedies, much Ado about nothing , and will have the opportunity to re-enact one of the scenes. Materials Internet computer and access for all students Copies of much Ado about nothing (also available on-line) Copies of Worksheets 1,2 and 3 for each student Copies of Extracts 1,2 and 3 for each student Filming equipment (optional) A4 paper and sellotape (for covering computer screens) Procedure Tip: Before opening the text and looking at the language it s important for the students to understand the larger picture.

3 Introduce the plot, themes, and main characters first. The Plot and Themes The main themes of the play are deception, falling in love, and male and female honour. Brainstorm real-life situations where the learners have experienced these themes first or second-hand. Copy Worksheet A, cut up and distribute a set of plot descriptors for groups of 4/5. In their groups they should try and put them into a logical order. Write up on the board the names of the main characters. Elicit from the students the relationship between each of the characters from what they have learnt with the plot descriptors.

4 TeachingEnglish | Lesson plans BBC | British Council 2010 Get each group to present their order of plot descriptors and to explain why they think the different events happen in the order they have chosen. When they have all presented the different possible orders you can reveal the correct sequence. Tip: The objective here is not necessarily to have the correct order but to have discovered major events in the play and to consider different possible plot sequences. Worksheet A ANSWERS 1) Claudio falls in love with Hero. 2) Beatrice and Benedick secretly fall in love with each other.

5 3) Don John pretends to make love to Hero. 4) Claudio believes Hero has cheated on him. 5) Hero is jilted at the alter by Claudio. 6) Hero s father pretends that Hero is dead to save her reputation. 7) Claudio grieves for Hero. 8) Claudio agrees to marry Hero s mystery cousin. 9) Hero reveals her true identity. 10) Benedick and Beatrice get married. 11) Claudio and Hero get married. 12) Don John is arrested for being deceptive. Monologues / Dialogues / Conversations Using the previously discussed plot events as a starting block you can now look at the major events in more detail and get to know the characters better.

6 Below are three of the events; a twist in the development of Benedick and Beatrice s complicated relationship, Don John s deception about Hero s fidelity and finally Claudio s discovery that Leonato s niece, the girl he is to marry, is in fact Hero. In this activity the students can read a short monologue or a conversation. Arrange the class into three workshops areas. Everyone should have a copy of the extract their group is working on. TeachingEnglish | Lesson plans BBC | British Council 2010 Explain that they are going to look at some extracts from the play but that they are not expected to understand every word.

7 Split the class into 3 groups. One person from each group should read out the short description of the scene that accompanies each extract. The group should together try and understand what is happening in their extract. Each group has the key words for their extract along with dictionaries. They should find out what their key words mean to get a more detailed understanding of their extract. They can then start to read the text. For the group looking at Extract 1 they can take it in turns to read it out loud. Their task is to read the whole text with no emotion, then with a little emotion finally leading to the last person in the group who reads it with as much emotion as possible.

8 Tip: By giving the students a task when reading (a crescendo of emotion) they can have fun with the text. Encourage the weaker students to read early on if they are embarrassed about playing with the text. For the group with Extract 2 their task is to say the text but they must only whisper. Not only does this force the group to listen and concentrate, it also creates an atmosphere of deceit. The groups with Extract 3 need to concentrate on stage directions. They have to stand and position themselves as if they were on stage and work out who s talking to who.

9 Tip: You can have 2 or 3 groups working on the same extract to give students more speaking time. If you have a small space to work with then keep the class in 3 groups and let the students rotate roles within each group. Modern vs. Original It s important that the students see, read and get a general feel for Shakespeare s original language. However, it can be a useful and fun exercise to compare with a modern version. Using the same extracts from the previous activity get the students to rewrite the extract (or part of it) with their own modern English.

10 They should do this in pairs with a time limit. Once each pair has written their new version they can compare with the other members of their group. TeachingEnglish | Lesson plans BBC | British Council 2010 Tip: By asking the students to write their own versions you are checking their understanding of the original text. By doing this activity in pairs they can help each other. By comparing their modern versions with other pairs they have a clear objective and have further opportunity to discuss the meaning of the extract with their peers You can then provide them with another modern version taken from the on-line No Fear Shakespeare from the SparkNotes webpage (see link below).